


The Aftermath: The Road to Recovery

by kpopismydrug, teaseofnight



Series: The Alpha Series [4]
Category: Super Junior
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-07 15:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kpopismydrug/pseuds/kpopismydrug, https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaseofnight/pseuds/teaseofnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The road to recovery was never an easy one. In the aftermath of what happened, Kyuhyun must be able to find the strength to move on and heal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Aftermath: The Road to Recovery

 

 

 

He could faintly make out voices talking, trying to encourage him to wake up. But every time he tried, all he felt was a burning pain that wouldn’t go away. His wolf was still struggling to help him recover, but the damage done to his windpipe was too serious, making it difficult to even breathe.

 

Even in the depths of his unconsciousness, where his wolf had been curled around him protectively, all he felt was a constant touch on his hand. He heard whimpers occasionally, a soft voice pleading with him to wake up.

 

_Wake up, and look at me again._

 

He wanted to, but he was too tired.

 

And all he knew was darkness.

 

 

 

It’s been a week since Donghae had been placed in an induced coma so that his injuries could be healed. He was too weak that even his natural healing ability as werewolf struggled to mend his crushed windpipe straightaway. He was still reliant on a machine to breathe for him. Luckily, the wounds on his neck caused by Changmin’s teeth were healing and infection hadn’t set in.

 

Siwon shifted lightly in his seat far from the bed, and immediately held his hands up as Kyuhyun snapped his gaze up to stare at him.

 

Kyuhyun’s face was a mix of different shades of bruising, his left eye still slightly swollen.

 

“Just getting comfortable,” he explained as the quiet male gave him a look.

 

Waiting until the younger male relaxed and laid his head back onto Donghae’s bed, hands still tightly clasped around Donghae’s limp one, Siwon’s week-long headache thumped and he closed his eyes.

 

Kyuhyun hasn’t really spoken since the day he woke up.

 

Siwon’s never seen a werewolf like this before. Everytime they made eye contact, all they saw in Kyuhyun’s eyes was his wolf. The maknae of the pack was gone, or rather, it was safe to say that he wasn’t entirely _there_.

 

Having spoken to Donghae’s friend who works as a doctor here and who also has helped werewolves on the side, the male could only come up with one reason why Kyuhyun’s wolf had taken over. Trauma, both mental and physical, had caused Kyuhyun’s wolf to come forward in order to protect Kyuhyun. It was acting as a defense mechanism, shielding Kyuhyun from what has happened to him and Donghae, and Kyuhyun’s past fear of alphas being exploited and reborn due to Changmin.

 

The only downside is, no one knew when Kyuhyun would come back.

 

“How are they doing?” Sungmin whispers as he comes to stand behind Siwon, causing him to open his eyes.

 

Kyuhyun barely reacted to Sungmin’s presence, only focused on his mate’s sleeping face.

 

“The doctor said Donghae could remain like this for a little while longer due to him not healing well,” Siwon told the older male as he too watched Donghae’s sleeping face. “He’s worried.”

 

Sungmin hid his distress quickly, but Siwon still caught it.

 

His wolf whined, both of them feeling at a loss as what they can do.

 

“And Kyuhyun?” Sungmin asks, voice thick.

 

Again, Kyuhyun didn’t react.

 

“His body is healing quickly, so it shouldn’t be too long before he can have his cast off. As for his state of mind…”Siwon trails off and he feels Sungmin’s hand on his shoulder.

 

“Hyukjae told me he went for you again this morning,” Sungmin murmured softly.

 

Siwon nods. “He went for the nurse attending to Donghae before that.”

 

Over the last few days, Kyuhyun’s tolerance to people being near Donghae got shorter and shorter. Siwon knows that the wolf has heard him speaking to the doctor about Donghae’s slow recovery, and that explains why its become even more protective over Donghae. Kyuhyun had snarled at anyone who tried to come close to Donghae, even the nurses who needed to change his IV a few times.

 

So Siwon and the others have made sure someone is here at all times, just to make sure Kyuhyun doesn’t accidently hurt anyone, even if that means he gets hurt in the process.

 

Looking down at the bandage covering his forearm from the deep scratch Kyuhyun gave him this morning, Siwon sighs. “I dunno what to do for him.”

 

“Let me take over for a little while,” Sungmin urges, hand squeezing Siwon’s shoulder gently.

 

Siwon knows that outside this hospital room, a shit load of problems are waiting for Donghae to deal with. Sitting here and doing nothing isn’t going to help him. After the whole incident with Changmin, Siwon had taken it upon himself to temporarily become alpha of the pack to settle some business with other alpha-less packs. It was a difficult situation to be placed in since many of the other werewolves had come, looking lost and unsure of what to do next. Their alphas were kidnapped and killed, leaving them leaderless, and for those who looked at their alpha as a parental figure, it simply hurt the most.

 

Hence how Siwon ended up helping them by doing what he can to get them back on their feet.

 

But no werewolf was the same.

 

Nodding, Siwon slowly gets up, aware of Kyuhyun paying them attention now as he and Sungmin swap places.

 

Seeing no one coming to them, Kyuhyun settles back down.

 

“I’ll talk to him,” Sungmin says as Siwon winces at the ache from sitting down for the last few hours. “He may still be in there, listening to us.”

 

Watching the couple as Sungmin settles himself, the sight of it made Siwon’s chest ache.

 

Whenever Kyuhyun wasn’t threatening them or the hospital staff, he would just settle next to Donghae’s bed and stare at his face for hours, not even budging to eat or drink anything. There were times when he had even come at night secretly, only to stay out of the room whenever he heard Kyuhyun’s wolf pleading for Donghae to wake up.

 

Before he leaves, Siwon says goodbye to them, waiting to see if Kyuhyun will respond.

 

He doesn’t.

 

 

 

Kyuhyun's wolf didn't budge from his spot as he continued to stare at Donghae's face, a small whimper escaping from him. He clutched at his mate's limp hand, desperately praying for him to wake up.

 

A week of pain and longing had come and gone, and it was the most painful thing he had to bear.

 

In the depths of his mind, he could sense Kyuhyun still there, but healing. He knew, though, that Kyuhyun would not fully recover until Donghae woke up.

 

They needed their mate to wake up.

 

Not even caring for Sungmin's presence, he carefully slipped onto the bed, mindful of the IV attached to Donghae's arm and the other wires hooked to his mate's body. He snuggled close, almost curling up against him.

 

When he heard the door open, he glanced over to see Hyukjae coming in, the older werewolf stilling for a moment once he saw his eyes on him. He watched Hyukjae quietly making his way over to Sungmin, finally relaxing once he was at a good distance away.

 

Looking back at Donghae, he let out another whimper and buried his face against Donghae's neck, inhaling his scent deeply. But he didn't like the smell of anesthetics that lingered around him, making another distressed sound.

 

_Wake up. Wake up, please. We need you._

 

 

 

Over the course of the next few days, Kyuhyun saw little changes in Donghae. His colouring wasn’t as sickly and the bandages on his neck could be replaced to thinner ones as they were almost healed now.

 

It was a sign his mate was recovering, and Kyuhyun’s wolf clung to that hope.

 

Eyeing the blue breathing tube sticking out of Donghae’s trachea, Kyuhyun’s wolf shuddered. He didn’t like seeing something like that poking out so vulnerably. Just the slightest knock and it could damage the male further.

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf whined, pressing his forehead to the back of Donghae’s hand. _“Come on, Hae. Show us more.”_

 

Looking up at their mate’s face, Kyuhyun’s shoulders sagged at seeing no reaction to his words.

 

The door to his room opened and Kyuhyun tensed, ready to protect.

 

“Morning, Kyuhyun.” Hyukjae greeted softly, and the smell of breakfast drifted over to him. “Hungry?”

 

Kyuhyun turned his head away, chin resting on the back of Donghae’s hand that he was holding.

 

“You need to eat.”

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf ignored him, his thumb gently rubbing Donghae’s palm.

 

He smelt Hyukjae’s annoyance before his pack member could stop it. “You’re going too far now.”

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf pulled back their lips, baring their teeth at the male for the comment.

 

“ _He’s our mate,”_ he snarls, surprising Hyukjae at speaking something different than ‘back off’.

 

Hyukjae dumps the bag of food onto a chair, arms crossing. “And I’ve been there near enough all of his life.” The male snarls back.

 

Kyuhyun straightens, not willing to allow that comment to fly by. “ _Are you mated to him?”_ Kyuhyun’s wolf demands, tone dangerous as he glares at the male.

 

“No.”

 

“ _Then you have no right to tell us how to act!”_ he snarls, body shaking from anger as he rises slowly, hand still gripping Donghae’s. “ _”Get out.”_

 

Hyukjae shakes his head, stance defiant.

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf lets out a savage sound at it. _“Get out!”_

 

Hyukjae doesn’t get the chance to reply, the deafening sound of Donghae choking has them both staring at him in shock.

 

When his heart monitor starts to so spike, blaring a warning alarm, Kyuhyun’s wolf barks for Hyukjae to get help as he clings to Donghae’s hand, saying useless things as he feels tears gather.

 

_“Don’t you dare,_ ” Kyuhyun’s wolf threatens as nurses and Donghae’s doctor fly into the room. _“You’re not giving up now.”_

 

“What’s happening to him?!” Hyukjae demands, face white as Kyuhyun unwillingly lets go so that they can help him.

 

As Donghae continues to choke, Kyuhyun shies away from Hyukjae who had came to comfort him.

 

“He’s choking on the breathing tube because he doesn’t need it now,” the doctor explains as they carefully remove it, and once it’s moved, Donghae stops choking, but remains unconscious.

 

Both stare at the male in confusion and barely concealed hope.

 

The doctor gives them a relieved smile. “His windpipe is close to being fully healed. Once I check the progress, we’ll be able to wean him off the coma.”

 

Kyuhyun felt his shoulders sag in relief, hurrying over to Donghae once the nurses move away after making sure Donghae was okay, the cut for the tube already healing shut. He immediately grabbed his hand, nuzzling against it.

 

_“Hae…”_

 

“It’ll still take a little bit more time,” the doctor said, looking over at Hyukjae. “But just remember to call if you notice signs of him waking up.”

 

“We will,” Hyukjae promised. “Thank you.”

 

The doctor smiled, clapping him on the shoulder before ushering the nurses out of the room.

 

Hyukjae turned back to look at Kyuhyun, who was still gazing at Donghae with much hope in his eyes. “You need to eat,” he coaxed again, softer this time. “Hae’s healing and might wake up. He wouldn’t want to see you so malnourished.”

 

Kyuhyun shook his head. _“I’ll only eat until I’m sure he wakes up.”_

 

Holding back an annoyed sigh, Hyukjae could only nod, leaving the food on the small table in the room before slipping out, needing to alert the rest of the pack about Donghae’s condition.

 

 

 

_Donghae, wake up. Please, Hae._

 

The voice was back, piercing through the darkness in his mind and rousing him from his sleep. He still felt weak, tired, but he couldn’t ignore the voice.

 

It kept calling out to him and somehow, he recognized it.

 

He just wasn’t sure from where.

 

_Hae, please. I know you can hear us. Wake up. We need you._

 

Blinking once, he felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion. But he felt his wolf nudge him, gently coaxing him to get some more rest. He was still hurt, but his injuries were slowly healing, and his wolf didn’t want anything to happen again.

 

So he obeyed, using the voice as a lullaby as he fell asleep.

 

 

 

Ryeowook nervously crept into the room, not wanting to do anything that’ll risk the wrath of Kyuhyun’s wolf. The last thing he wanted was to get hurt, but even so, he wanted to check up on his best friend and his alpha.

 

He was greeted with the sight of Kyuhyun curled up against Donghae, seemingly asleep, making him relax slightly. Placing a bag of food on the small table, he took a seat and watched the two of them. He knew if he even tried to creep close to check on Donghae’s condition, Kyuhyun’s wolf would just wake up and snap at him.

 

So he made himself comfortable, already preparing himself for staying the night in the hospital room. Out of all the other pack members, Ryeowook didn’t receive much of the ill treatment as they did, if only because he was Kyuhyun’s best friend and his wolf recognized him the most. It was the same way Kyuhyun’s wolf trusted Siwon the least and didn’t hesitate to attack him.

 

Curling up on the chair, he watched them, eyes focused on the steady rise of Donghae’s chest every time he breathed.

 

Hope was the only thing he could cling onto now as he prayed every night for his alpha to wake up so that his best friend could recover.

 

He almost jumped out of his chair in shock when he heard the door open, looking over to see Sungmin peeking inside curiously.

 

“Is everything okay?” Sungmin whispered, earning a nod from the younger. “I came to bring you a blanket. You forgot it at home.”

 

Ryeowook gave him a thankful smile, shifting as the older came in with a rolled up blanket. “Where’s Henry?”

 

“At home with Hyukjae.”

 

Henry was the newest member of the pack, or at least he was until Donghae woke up and accepted him. He was from an alpha-less pack and Siwon had somehow managed to take him under his wing after finding Henry on the streets, weak and hungry. Since then, whenever they weren’t visiting, the pack would help Henry recover.

 

And he had somehow managed to grow attached to both Ryeowook and Sungmin in the process.

 

Ryeowook nodded. “Do you think Hae-hyung will wake up soon?”

 

“When he’s ready, he will. We can’t rush this,” Sungmin says sadly as he places the blanket over Ryeowook and tucking him in slightly, in which Ryeowook rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

 

“You’re right,” he sighs, and both stiffen as Kyuhyun makes a soft sound in his sleep.

 

Whispering his goodbye, Sungmin leaves before Kyuhyun can wake up properly.

 

Ryeowook watches his best friend slowly wake up, blinking around the room before settling on him.

 

Ryeowook breathes a sigh of relief as Kyuhyun’s wolf nods at him before settling closer to Donghae.

 

Biting his lip slightly, Ryeowook restrained the impulse to cover the male. It was getting cold during the nights now, but he didn’t want to upset Kyuhyun’s wolf by covering him with a blanket.

 

But he couldn’t ignore it, so he waited until he was sure Kyuhyun was back to sleep before moving silently to the bed Kyuhyun had slept in when he was brought here. Taking the folded blanket, Ryeowook crept over to Donghae’s bed.

 

His wolf urged him to at least say something so that he doesn’t accidently spook Kyuhyun, and he ends up stuttering out something as he leans to throw the blanket over Kyuhyun’s curled form.

 

Not daring to breathe, Ryeowook carefully makes sure his best friend is covered properly. Pulling back once he’s happy with it, he feels himself being watched.

 

He glances at Kyuhyun, but frowns at seeing him still asleep.

 

Heart pounding in his ears, Ryeowook glances up at Donghae’s face in time to see the male’s eyes drift back shut.

 

“H-hyung?” Ryeowook stutters out, wondering if he saw or imagined it.

 

Donghae doesn’t react, but Kyuhyun does, shifting slightly.

 

Forcing himself to return back to his seat, Ryeowook doesn’t take his eyes off his alpha all night.

 

Donghae doesn’t open his eyes again.

 

 

 

Feeling the younger one come up behind him, Sungmin smiled as he felt a shy tug at the back of his shirt. Turning, he saw their newest addition shift from one foot to the other.

 

“What’s wrong?” Sungmin asks slowly, making sure the younger male can understand him.

 

As they’ve learnt, Henry isn’t from Korea, but China. He and his alpha had relocated to Seoul just a few years ago, but his speaking skills weren’t as great as his listening. He could understand what they said, to a limit, but it took him awhile to respond.

 

Siwon played translator when was able to, but Henry needed to practise.

 

“Where’s Wookie?” Henry asks quietly, hand still tightly clasped on Sungmin’s shirt.

 

Sungmin gently loosens his grip and holds it instead as he leads him to living room. “He’s at the hospital.”

 

Henry nods as they sit, and Sungmin’s heart warms further as he cuddles to him.

 

Poor thing, he was so scared and unsure how his life was going to be now. Sungmin knew Donghae would accept Henry, but there was always that off chance that he could reject him too.

 

He gently patted his head, feeling Henry relax a little at the action.

 

“Is...um...is the alpha getting better?” Henry questioned, looking up at Sungmin with wide eyes.

 

They had already informed him that Siwon wasn’t the true alpha of the pack, despite being an alpha himself. He was simply taking charge while Donghae continued to heal, and Henry understood that, though he never could erase this fear he had inside.

 

Sungmin smiled slightly and nodded. “He is,” he told him, feeling warmth in his chest when Henry asked, even though the younger werewolf was still slightly afraid.

 

Henry managed a somewhat relieved smile.

 

“Have you eaten yet?” Sungmin asked, just remembering. Everyone else did, what with Hyukjae and Siwon speed-eating before leaving the apartment to handle business. Ryeowook ate a couple of hours ago before going to the hospital, and Sungmin ate an hour ago. Henry still hadn’t eaten anything yet as he was still sleeping most of the day away.

 

A faint blush decorated Henry’s cheeks as he shook his head.

 

Sungmin chuckled. “Do you want anything to eat?”

 

“Um…” Henry pursed his lips. “Kimbap?”

 

“Alright, but don’t yell at me if it tastes horrible. No one can beat Ryeowook’s cooking, after all.”

 

The younger werewolf gave him a shy smile. “Yours will be good, too, hyung.”

 

Sungmin smiled back, quietly telling him to watch some TV while he went into the kitchen to make food for their guest.

 

 

 

Hyukjae sighed, running a hand through his hair as he made his way to Donghae’s hospital room. It had been troubling to comfort some of the werewolves within the city that lost their alpha; they were hysterical with grief and some of them even went mad. It took all day to get them to settle down again before taking them to someone he knew who can help them recover from the loss.

 

He stopped when he heard noises coming from Donghae’s room, peeking inside curiously. Kyuhyun was still asleep as it was early in the morning with the sun still rising in the sky. He knew Ryeowook had gone already since he still had to attend to rehearsals for his next musical, so the only people left could’ve been Kyuhyun and Donghae.

 

But Kyuhyun was still asleep.

 

Hyukjae slipped inside, eyes fixed on Donghae’s form. He held his breath upon hearing something akin to mumbling coming from Donghae, but there was something else that caught his attention.

 

Donghae’s eyelids were fluttering.

 

“Hae?” he called out quietly, watching his best friend’s eyelids continue to flutter. He anxiously tiptoed closer, not wanting to suddenly awaken Kyuhyun’s wolf and suffer. “Donghae, can you hear me?”

 

The movement stopped, but Hyukjae could still detect mumbling.

 

It made his heart soar with hope, though he tried not to expect too much.

 

“Donghae?”

 

Donghae made a little noise, but Hyukjae caught it.

 

Racing out of the room, Hyukjae runs through the ward to chase down anyone.

 

“I think he’s woken up!” he says once he grabs a nurse, and it takes a few seconds for her to even remember who he is and who he is referring to, but Hyukjae is dragging her with him as they jog back to Donghae’s room.

 

They make too much noise and that wakes Kyuhyun.

 

“He was making noises before I came in, and when I called his name, he made a sound in response.” Hyukjae excitedly tells her as she goes to check on Donghae.

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf gives them a confused look, still lying on the bed as he watches the nurse carefully.

 

“Donghae?” she calls clearly, getting a penlight from her pocket and began to shine it in and out of his eyes to check for a lucid response.

 

The moan they got nearly had Hyukjae in tears.

 

“Keep talking to him,” the nurse encourages. “I’m going to get the doctor.”

 

As she slips from the room, Hyukjae moves over to Donghae’s bed as Kyuhyun’s wolf gently cradles his face, calling to him softly.

 

Hyukjae waits for the snarl for him to get back, but all Kyuhyun’s wolf does is snap at him to talk to Donghae.

 

As they both take turns speaking to Donghae, they get the response of a lifetime.

 

“Hmm?” Donghae hums, eyes opening partially.

 

Hyukjae starts to cry, grabbing his alpha’s hand. “Can you hear us?”

 

Donghae nods slowly in Kyuhyun’s hands.

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf kisses his forehead, tears streaking down his cheeks.

 

_“You finally came back,”_ Hyukjae hears Kyuhyun’s wolf sob softly, the relief loud and clear in its tone.

 

Donghae doesn’t answer, and both Hyukjae and Kyuhyun hold their breath.

 

“ _Hae?”_ Kyuhyun calls softly, pulling back so he can look down at him.

 

The doctor comes in then and Hyukjae rounds on him. “He’s not answering us.”

 

The doctor moves him aside gently. “Think about it, he’s just woken up from a long sleep. It’s going to take a few more hours for him to be completely responsive.”

 

Both he and Kyuhyun nod, their hearts feeling lighter at the positive news.

 

“I’m going to call the pack,” Hyukjae announces, and Kyuhyun’s wolf nods as it continues to whisper at Donghae.

 

Within the next few hours, their alpha is going to be back, and hopefully, so will Kyuhyun.

 

 

 

Donghae was still feeling disoriented even after being awake for a few hours already. His throat felt parched, and his bones were stiff. He tried moving, but almost immediately, he had someone stopping him from moving too much. Blinking a few times, he looked up to see his mate gazing down at him.

 

Licking his lips, he gave him a worried look, wanting to ask why his mate’s wolf was out but at the same time, couldn’t. Not yet, at least.

 

“Hae?”

 

Turning his head a little at the call of his name, Donghae saw Sungmin hurry over to him, relief evident on his face. “Thank God, you’re awake.”

 

Merely blinking in response, Donghae tried to ask him a question through his eyes.

 

Sungmin shook his head. “Don’t worry. The doctor said you won’t need to stay here for very long. Probably a few more days so that they can make sure you’re completely healed.”

 

Donghae swallowed a few times, wanting to talk, but then made a pained sound at realizing just exactly how dry his throat was.

 

_“Here.”_

 

He felt himself being helped up into a sitting position, the rim of a glass on his lip. Opening his mouth obediently, he greedily swallowed the water as it trickled down his throat, only to slow down when his mate coaxed him to drink it slowly.

 

Once he was sure his throat wasn’t as dry anymore, he attempted to talk. “W-What happened?”

 

Twin expressions of utter relief were painted on both of their faces, overjoyed to finally hear him talking again, despite how hoarse it sounded.

 

Sungmin glanced at Kyuhyun, who kept staring down at Donghae.

 

“After...what happened with Changmin, you were brought here. You were in a coma, Hae.”

 

Donghae’s eyebrows furrowed, his mind still cloudy due to his long sleep. He struggled to remember the events of what happened, only to hear his wolf telling him to take it easy.

 

“Briefly, tell me,” he says, that way he’s not pushing himself to remember.

 

Sungmin gives both of them uneasy looks, unsure how to start or what to say.

 

_“You fought with the alpha, but he got distracted so that Siwon was able to kill him. You were then rushed here where you were put into an induced coma due to serious damage to your neck and windpipe.”_ his mate tells him softly and slowly, and Donghae frowns at the continued show of his mate’s wolf.

 

“Siwon has been working on the damage Changmin has done to other packs,” Sungmin tells him as he eyes Kyuhyun carefully. “Whilst he did that, he found a young werewolf wandering the streets due to his alpha being killed, so Siwon has brought him into ours for now, until you’re well enough to say if he can stay or not.”

 

“ _His name is Henry,”_ Kyuhyun’s wolf tells him as he moves to stroke Donghae’s hair.

 

Donghae notes the surprised look on Sungmin’s face at that. It makes Donghae even more confused to what’s been going on, especially with regard to his mate.

 

“Wolf…” Donghae says, eyes on Kyuhyun. “Why?”

 

_“I’m protecting him,”_ his mate’s wolf tells him softly. _“He didn’t cope well to what happened.”_

 

Donghae’s wolf tells him to calm down as the rush of worry slams into him, but Donghae can’t ignore something like this. His own mate is being taken care of by his wolf instead of Donghae.

 

“Can you stop?” Donghae asks as he shifts a little. “Will he come back now?”

 

Kyuhyun’s wolf gives him a thoughtful look. “ _Go slow,”_ he warns. _“He still isn’t healed yet.”_

 

Donghae nods, eyes locked on Kyuhyun’s face. He watches as Kyuhyun’s wolf slowly recedes, his eyes no longer a dark colour but their natural light brown before they shut. His own wolf holds its breath as they wait for Kyuhyun to open his eyes again, to show that he’s back.

 

“Kyu?” Donghae calls gently, and he softly touches Kyuhyun’s cheek.

 

Donghae’s heart clenches in pain at the fearful jerk Kyuhyun makes, eyes flashing open.

 

“Shh, it’s just me.” Donghae hurries to soothe as Kyuhyun’s breathing picks up, the smell of his fear causing his chest to constrict.

 

He sees Sungmin leave them from out of the corner of his vision, but he remains focused on his mate.

 

“You’re awake,” Kyuhyun breathes out, and Donghae leans into his mate’s hand as it touches his face.

 

Donghae nods and places a light, reassuring kiss to his mate’s palm.

 

Kyuhyun reacts not in the way he expected.

 

Donghae watches his mate carefully, trying not to feel hurt by his reaction of yanking away from him.

 

Kyuhyun’s wearing a conflicted expression, which soon morphs into one of pain as he shakes his head rapidly.

 

“I-I need air.” he rushes out, and Donghae can’t even stop him due to his tired body as Kyuhyun leaves him, pushing past Sungmin and racing from the room.

 

“Hae…”

 

“He’ll be fine.” Donghae promises fiercely. “I’ll make sure he heals too.”

 

_Both of us will make sure our mate heals. We’ll help heal the wounds that bastard as put on our mate._

 

 

 

It had taken some considerable time before Donghae was finally able to go home. He was ordered to take it easy by the doctor as none of them want anything to happen to him again. Everyone was ecstatic, of course, and all took it upon themselves to help do whatever they can to help Donghae.

 

During that brief time, Donghae had met Henry, who he immediately adored and accepted. As someone who had a decent understanding of Chinese, he was able to converse with the newest maknae in the pack.

 

But his main concern was Kyuhyun, who was distancing himself from him.

 

It made his heart ache, wanting to have killed Changmin himself for causing his mate so much pain. But he didn’t say anything, simply trying his best to get close to the younger again. It took a painstakingly long time as Kyuhyun had seemed to make it a mission to avoid him, the scent of guilt spiking whenever Donghae came close.

 

So the first thing Donghae did a few days later upon returning home was carefully approach his mate.

 

“Kyu,” he called out softly to his mate, who was curled up on the couch.

 

Kyuhyun flinched, looking up with fear in his eyes.

 

“Kyuhyun, please, just talk to me,” Donghae whispered, finally stopping in front of him. “I want to help you.”

 

“It’s my fault,” the younger whispered. “My fault. You got hurt because of me.”

 

Donghae shook his head. “It’s not your fault.”

 

“But it is!”

 

“It isn’t,” the alpha said in a soothing voice, crouching in front of him. He didn’t touch him despite wanting to, knowing he’d just end up scaring the younger werewolf.

 

Kyuhyun began to shake. “How can you say that when you nearly died?!”

 

“Because I’d do anything for you,” Donghae told him. “I love you, Hyun. So please don’t keep blaming yourself.”

 

The younger shook his head again, whimpering.

 

Donghae frowned slightly. “Hey…” he whispered. “How about we get away from here for a while?”

 

At seeing Kyuhyun’s hesitant expression and still fearful look in his brown eyes, Donghae pushed on gently. “We’ll go somewhere quiet, somewhere in the countryside where we can breathe without having any reminders at every corner. Just you and me, alone.”

 

“Hae...” Kyuhyun begins, staring at him with wide eyes. “The pack, though.”

 

“Siwon’s shown he’s capable of running our pack temporarily. He won’t mind if he has to do it for a little while longer.” Donghae reassures. “I want to focus solely on you. You need this break, Kyuhyun.”

 

Kyuhyun nibbles at his bottom lip, chewing at it hard enough that Donghae has to lightly touch his hand to get him to stop it.

 

Kyuhyun, of course, shies away from his touch immediately, and then looks down at where his hand had been.

 

Donghae watches his mate’s conflicting emotions relay his thoughts. He can see that Kyuhyun knows he needs this, but he also sees that fear holding him back.

 

Donghae doesn’t say anything, though. It’s Kyuhyun’s choice. He’s not going to pressure him, no matter how much Donghae believes his mate needs this.

 

“What if I can’t be fixed?” Kyuhyun whispers heartbreakingly, causing Donghae’s chest to constrict as his mate gives him such a sad and helpless look.

 

Donghae holds onto the sofa tightly, knowing Kyuhyun will only shy away again. “Everything can be fixed, it just takes time and the right way in order to achieve it.”

 

Kyuhyun swallows thickly, but gives a slow nod.

 

Donghae’s wolf sighs in relief.

 

“Any place you have in mind?” Donghae asks lightly, not wanting to pressure him.

 

Kyuhyun shrugs a little, eyes down as he plays with the bottom of his top. “Just somewhere quiet and not too isolated.”

 

Donghae understands the last part. Even though Kyuhyun has been avoiding physical contact with anyone, he still can’t be on his own for long, or even some days his mate cannot be alone at all.

 

“Okay, I’ll go organise it now.” Donghae rises slowly, not wanting to spook Kyuhyun who is still looking away from Donghae. “Will tomorrow be alright to go?”

 

Kyuhyun nods.

 

Donghae leaves the room but pauses at the threshold of the doorway leading down to his office and their room so that he can watch his mate from afar.

 

Kyuhyun relaxes visibly, a long sigh leaving him as he curls further into himself.

 

Donghae turns his back to allow his mate some privacy.

 

Even if they have to be away months, he’s going to do everything in his power to help his mate.

 

 

 

“What time did they leave?”

 

Siwon turns around to see Hyukjae standing at the doorway of the office at the back of the restaurant.

 

“An hour ago?” Siwon says as he checks the time on the computer screen he was currently working at. “Donghae’s told me to only contact him if it is urgent, other than that, he wants no one to contact them unless they are the ones to do it.”

 

Hyukjae nods. “What are you doing?”

 

Looking at the mess of numbers on the screen, Siwon sighs. “Because of the whole Changmin thing, the accounts for the restaurant and the whole paper work for the place is a mess. Donghae wants it all cleared and put in order before it gets worse.”

 

Hyukjae comes further into the office. “You going to be okay with this?”

 

Siwon frowns. “The accounts?”

 

Hyukjae gives a long suffering sigh. “No, idiot. Being in charge of the pack.”

 

“It’s only temporary,” Siwon says as he goes back to work. “Just as long as nothing huge comes up, I’ll be fine. You guys will soon forget I am because nothing will really change.”

 

The sound of Siwon typing is the only sound in the room. After a few minutes of it, Siwon pauses. “Is there something wrong?” he asks, looking back over at the werewolf.

 

Hyukjae takes a seat, and Siwon’s wolf prepares itself for whatever may come out of the male’s mouth.

 

“Hyuk?”

 

“Would it be okay for me to date a human?” Hyukjae asks quickly, avoiding his gaze.

 

Siwon’s hands clench into fists and he hides them under the desk. “Why are you ask-”

 

“You’re my alpha for the moment,” Hyukjae snaps out, cheeks turning red. “I need to at least know it’s safe and okayed by my alpha.”

 

Siwon ignores the way his wolf is screaming denials in his head. “What has been Donghae’s view on mixed dating?”

 

Hyukjae shrugs. “He’s never really said.”

 

Siwon grits his teeth. “You’ve been friends forever; what does he think about humans and werewolves dating?”

 

Hyukjae sends him an annoyed look. “He thinks it’s risky.”

 

_And I agree!_ His wolf screams.

 

Siwon forces a smile out. “Well then, I guess you have your answer.”

 

“That’s Donghae’s viewpoint, not yours.”

 

“Donghae is your alpha.”

 

Hyukjae looks around the room. “Funny, I could’ve sworn he left an hour ago and left you in charge of our pack.”

 

Siwon’s eyebrow twitches. He’s going to throttle his friend if he keeps on pushing it.

 

“Fine.” He grits out. “I want to meet the human before I can give you the green card.”

 

Hyukjae nods. “See, that wasn’t so hard to say, was it?”

 

Siwon bites his tongue and returns to his work. “Is that it?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Then I’ll be getting back to work.” Siwon dismisses him, clamping down on his wolf as it  sniggers slightly at how Siwon’s reacting to the male.

 

_When are you going to admit to it, huh?_

 

As Hyukjae leaves, Siwon brings his fists from under the desk.

 

Seeing the indentations in his palms from his nails, Siwon sighs and rubs at them to fade them away quicker.

 

Wish the same could be said for how his heart was currently racing.

 

_Blind. You are utterly blind._

 

“Shut up.” Siwon mumbles to his wolf, and goes back to his work.

 

Only, he keeps making mistakes since all he can focus on is this human Hyukjae that wants to date.

 

 

 

Pulling up outside the cottage Donghae has hired for the next few weeks, he glances over at his silent mate.

 

Kyuhyun’s looking out of his window, taking in the trees surrounding the area.

 

“We’re not totally isolated,” Donghae assures softly as he turns the ignition off. “The properties are spaced out to allow privacy, but not total isolation.”

 

The younger nodded slowly, waiting until Donghae slipped out of the car and opened the trunk to get their stuff. He waited for a heartbeat later before finally getting out, staying near the door as he watched his mate.

 

He bit his lip, wanting to help, but his fear kept holding him back.

 

“Do you want to go inside?” his mate asked. “I won’t be long.”

 

Kyuhyun shook his head.

 

Holding back a sigh, Donghae nodded and finished taking their stuff out of the car before closing the trunk. With a reassuring smile, he led his mate inside, quietly telling him to take a seat on the couch as he settled their belongings into the rooms. He waited as Kyuhyun finally nodded and took a seat on the couch, curled up.

 

The sight of it caused Donghae’s chest to clench in pain, but he assured himself and his wolf that they would do absolutely anything to help him.

 

“Donghae…?”

 

Startled by the sudden call of his name, Donghae turned around to see Kyuhyun standing in the doorway, looking shy and somewhat afraid.

 

Donghae smiled gently at him. “Did you need something, Kyu?”

 

“Can you...come with me outside?” his mate mumbled out so quietly that Donghae had to strain to hear him. “I want to take a walk.”

 

Almost immediately, Donghae noded. “Sure.”

 

Kyuhyun tried to give him a grateful smile, but it looked strained.

 

Without even commenting on it, Donghae gently led his mate out of the cottage, not staying too close to him but not straying far from him either. He knew if he was out of Kyuhyun’s sight for too long, his mate would immediately panic.

 

So without another word, the couple began their trek into the small forest that was off to the side, breathing in the fresh scent of nature and listening to the voices of the animals living there.

 

 

 

Henry jumped when he heard something slam, looking up with wide eyes to see Siwon stomping inside, mumbling to himself before he disappeared into Hyukjae’s room, and soon hears some sort of shuffling noise and low growls.

 

Stunned by what happened, Henry could only blink dumbly.

 

“What was that?” Sungmin asked, poking his head out of the kitchen.

 

The maknae blinked slowly. “Uh...Siwon-hyung came in looking angry.”

 

“Why?”

 

Henry could only shrug.

 

Sungmin hummed, a thoughtful look on his face. “I wonder...’

 

“What is it?”

 

“Nothing,” the older werewolf assured him. “Do you want to help me in the kitchen?”

 

Henry shook his head, curling up on the couch. “Wookie told me not to because I almost burned the toaster oven yesterday.”

 

“Ah, right…” Sungmin recalled the event all too clearly. They didn’t think it was even possible to get the toaster oven to catch on fire, but after Henry tried to heat something up for dinner, it combusted and Ryeowook promptly freaked out.

 

It took much time for Sungmin and Hyukjae to calm Ryeowook and Henry down since the two of them were panicking about the fire.

 

It was also the time when they decided to give Henry a proper lesson on using kitchen equipment. The last thing they wanted was for the new maknae to hurt himself when he wanted to try and eat something.

 

The door to Hyuk’s room opened again and both Sungmin and Henry eyed the alpha as he wore a deep frown on his face.

 

“Er...Siwon?” Sungmin calls, and the male jerks as if he’s only just noticed they’re there.

 

“Has Hyuk brought anyone home lately?” The male demands, and Henry doesn’t know whether he should be slightly afraid of the alpha right now, or embarrassed that Hyukjae’s private life is about to be openly discussed.

 

He looks at Sungmin for help, only to be confused at seeing a playful light in the male’s eyes.

 

“Is he not allowed?” Sungmin asks, and Siwon stiffens and stops walking around the living room.

 

“He’s brought someone?” Siwon asks, and Henry can see the male is trying to remain calm.

 

He’s so confused. He didn’t know Siwon and Hyukjae were a ‘thing’.

 

“You’re putting words into my mouth.” Sungmin sings as he goes back into the kitchen with Siwon hot on his heels.

 

Henry tags along, wanting to know more.

 

“Has he, or has he not, brought anyone home?” Siwon asks as he hovers around Sungmin as he checks on their dinner.

 

Sungmin shrugs. “I’m not his keeper.”

 

“Your rooms are next door to each other!”

 

Henry takes a seat, eyes glued to the show going on in front of him.

 

Sungmin gives Siwon a slightly dark look. “I don’t have my ear pressed against the wall to listen to what he’s doing in there.”

 

Siwon stumbles as Sungmin butts his hip against him for him to move aside.

 

“You’re the oldest here; you should know what’s going on under your roof!”

 

Sungmin rounds on him, steaming spoon in hand as he points it at Siwon. “There is a thing called, ‘privacy’. Something you just violated when you went into Hyuk’s room!”

 

“Won’t Hyuk-hyung know you’ve been in there?” Henry innocently asks and Siwon slightly turns pale.

 

Sungmin nods and gives Henry a pleased smile. “And Hyuk is very...what’s the word…protective of his own space, so yeah, well done, Siwon. He’s going to be in a foul mood when he comes home.”

 

“Henry, come with me.” Siwon suddenly begs as he grabs the young male’s arm.

 

Henry falls off his chair but Siwon catches him as he tugs him towards Hyuk’s room. “Hyung!” Henry yells out, terrified as they get closer.

 

“He loves you, he won’t hurt you.” Siwon promises.

 

“I thought you two were together, though?” Henry squawks, helpless against the alpha, just as the the front door to the apartment shuts.

 

Both still just outside Hyuk’s room as Hyukjae himself comes running around the corner. The panic on his face falls, but a puzzled look appears as Henry gives him a small awkward wave.

 

“What are you guys doing?” Hyukjae demanded, looking at the two curiously.

 

Henry glanced at Siwon, who was trying hard to keep his face blank.

 

“Well?”

 

“Siwon-hyung hit his head on the wall so I was just helping him to the couch,” Henry hastily explained, earning startled looks from both Siwon and Sungmin, who was watching them from the kitchen.

 

Hyukjae blinked, looking over at Siwon. “Really?”

 

“Y-Yeah,” Siwon stammered, nodding slowly.

 

“Go sit down then and place some ice on your head. Hopefully you won’t get a concussion.” Without another word, Hyukjae walked around them, only to yelp out in shock when Siwon suddenly fell on him. “Won!”

 

The alpha stammered something out, glaring silent daggers at Henry, who fled into the kitchen for safety.

 

“Uh…”

 

Hyukjae raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

 

“My head hurts,” Siwon whined, earning a sigh from his friend.

 

Clicking his tongue, Hyukjae led Siwon to the couch. “Such a baby.”

 

“Don’t you have a date tonight, Hyuk?” Sungmin suddenly asked, earning looks from both males.

 

A nod and Siwon had to hold himself back from snarling.

 

“Then go get ready. I’ll get some ice for him,” the oldest said cheerfully, earning a glare from Siwon.

 

Not even paying attention, Hyukjae just thanked Sungmin quickly before disappearing into his room.

 

Siwon glowered. “What was that?”

 

“Oh, you know,” Sungmin said vaguely with a smirk. “But enjoy the date, Won.”

 

Siwon only gaped, watching the older werewolf disappear back into the kitchen.

 

 

 

Kyuhyun jolted awake, eyes wide as he trembled slightly due to the nightmare he recently had. He hugged himself, glancing out of the window to see it was already late at night. There was a coldness in the bed that usually wasn’t there and a glance over made him realize Donghae wasn’t in bed with him.

 

A pang in his chest made him remember that ever since Donghae came home, the alpha had been sleeping in the other room with the attempt of not making Kyuhyun spooked out in the middle of the night. Kyuhyun didn’t argue, somewhat grateful for the gesture. Yet, as the days passed, all he could really feel was loneliness and longing. It made him crave for the comfort only his mate could provide, but he was too scared of asking him or even try initiating it.

 

He carefully slipped out of bed, hugging his pillow tightly to him as he crept out of the room. Following his mate’s scent in the bedroom next door, Kyuhyun quietly pried the door open, his eyes landing on Donghae’s sleeping form. He shook, watching the older werewolf sleep, and tried to resist the urge of crawling into his bed like a child and curl up next to him.

 

_It’s okay,_ he heard his wolf whisper soothingly. _One step at a time._

 

Taking a shaky breath, Kyuhyun crept into the room, almost tiptoeing until he finally reached Donghae’s bed. He stared down at his mate for a long moment before finally mustering up the courage to reach out, taking hold of Donghae’s sleeve and gently tugging on it like a child.

 

“Hae?” Kyuhyun mumbled quietly.

 

Donghae made a soft noise before jerking awake, eyes looking up at Kyuhyun in surprise.

 

“What’s wrong?” Donghae whispers as he sits up slightly, and then his gaze follows down to where Kyuhyun is still gripping his sleeve tightly.

 

“C-can I lie next to you?” Kyuhyun whispers, throat tightening on the words as he forces himself to say them.

 

Donghae nods, eyes slightly wide as he shuffles to the other side of the bed so that Kyuhyun doesn’t have to walk around it.

 

Kyuhyun’s grip on his sleeve stops him from going too far, but Donghae doesn’t point it out as Kyuhyun slowly gets into bed.

 

“Thank you,” Kyuhyun whispers as Donghae throws the duvet over him as well.

 

“You don’t need to thank me, Kyuhyun.” Donghae says softly as he lies down as well, stretching his arm out so that Kyuhyun isn’t straining to keep his grip on his sleeve.

 

He watches Kyuhyun close his eyes, breathing in deeply. “Night.”

 

Donghae whispers it back, unable to really say anything else as he watches Kyuhyun. He was trying to keep his emotions in check. He didn’t want Kyuhyun to sense how much this meant to him, and how much it still hurt to see his mate so vulnerable.

 

Peeking down underneath the duvet, Donghae bit his lip at seeing Kyuhyun’s hand fisted tightly around his sleeve still.

 

Breathing hard, Donghae tried to find sleep again, using his mate’s scent to soothe him.

 

 

 

Breakfast was slightly awkward. Kyuhyun seemed lost in his thoughts, and Donghae let him be, not wanting to disturb what the male was mulling over in his mind.

 

He wanted to show Kyuhyun the area a little bit. There was a village just twenty minutes away, so he wanted them to have a quick look there, and if Kyuhyun could handle it, then maybe stay for lunch.

 

But right now, Donghae was fighting with his hair.

 

“Just...lie...flat.” he hisses out as he tries to flatten the part that refused to obey.

 

Stomping his feet slightly when it spikes back up, Donghae misses Kyuhyun standing outside the bathroom door.

 

“Oh, you scared me!” Donghae gasps out, laughing a little as his mate watches him.

 

“What are you using?” Kyuhyun asks him softly, arms wrapped around himself.

 

“Water,” Donghae mumbles out, entirely focused on getting it to stay down.

 

He sees Kyuhyun leave and thinks nothing of it.

 

Whining when part of it springs back up, Kyuhyun appears again, but this time with something in his hands.

 

“You forgot to pack this.” Kyuhyun says as he holds out the small tub of hair texture clay.

 

Donghae turns slightly and gently takes it from him. “So you packed it for me?”

 

Kyuhyun nods, cheeks pink.

 

Donghae smiles warmly at him, mood instantly lifting. “Thank you, Hyun.”

 

As he turns back, Kyuhyun steps into the room. Donghae watches him through the mirror, unsure of what his mate is doing.

 

“You need to d-dry it first.” Kyuhyun picks up a small hand towel and holds it out to him.

 

Donghae nods and uses it to rub the spot dry. When his head pops free, hair a mess and dry now, he swears he saw Kyuhyun almost smile before it vanished.

 

“Brush.” Again, Donghae takes it from Kyuhyun and does as directed.

 

Donghae swallows, hope swelling in his heart as Kyuhyun picks up the tub and unscrews it.

 

“T-turn please.”

 

Doing as instructed slowly, he stood still as Kyuhyun scooped some of the contents onto his hand before putting it into his hair, styling it the way he liked it. He kept his eyes on his mate’s face, seeing the way he bit his lip as he struggled to get it to stay down.

 

Eventually, once Kyuhyun finished, he pulled back and Donghae had to hold himself back from ensnaring his mate into his arms and keep him close. He gave the younger a grateful smile, standing aside so that Kyuhyun could wash his hands.

 

“I’ll get dressed,” Donghae told his mate softly. “So make sure you do, too, okay?”

 

Kyuhyun gave him a shy nod, and Donghae scurried out of the bathroom.

 

It was only a little while later after they were both dressed did they leave the cottage. Since the village was only twenty minutes away - twenty-five if they went by foot - Donghae decided they should just walk there. Walking helped ease the mind and the weather was beautiful, despite the chilly air.

 

The walk there was quiet between them, both of them unsure of how to start a conversation.

 

Kyuhyun still kept a distance between them, one that Donghae didn’t point out because he knew his mate would just freak out if he did. So he kept quiet, humming softly whilst listening to some of the animals scurry around in the trees.

 

“H-Hae…”

 

“Hmm?” Donghae hummed out, looking over at his mate curiously.

 

Kyuhyun was staring down at the ground, biting his lip. “Um…”

 

“What is it, Hyun?”

 

“I-Is is possible if we can get a snack once we’re in the village?” his mate requested shyly, eyes still lowered.

 

“Sure!” Donghae happily agreed, and since he was currently ecstatic at the progress Kyuhyun was making with himself, he wasn’t paying attention to what his feet were doing.

 

Stumbling and falling on the high curb as they came up to the concrete pathway leading down the main road, Donghae let out an ‘oof!’ sound as he landed on his knees.

 

He heard a quick snort that would have burst into hysterical laughter if Kyuhyun hadn’t stopped himself.

 

“You okay?” Kyuhyun asks politely as Donghae quickly gets up, his face burning.

 

“Yeah.” He coughs out, and glares at the innocent path.

 

As they get closer to the village, he hears Kyuhyun snort again.

 

Despite wanting his mate to allow the laughter to come out, Donghae smiled to himself, pleased that his clumsiness had at least brought Kyuhyun a little further out of the shell his fear as placed him in.

 

 

 

The village was cute and the locals were kind to them as they went from store to store. Currently, they were in a little gift shop that had locally made items on display.

 

Donghae gazed at the souvenirs curiously, smiling as he thought about getting a few for their pack members back home. Fingering a few tassels, he looked up when he heard his name being called and was slightly surprised to feel something on top of his head. Blinking, he pulled back a little to see Kyuhyun blushing faintly.

 

“Kyu?”

 

“I-It looks cute on you,” his mate mumbled, looking shy.

 

Curious, Donghae searched for the nearest mirror and almost laughed at seeing how ridiculous he looked wearing a Mickey Mouse beanie. Smiling, he turned back to his mate. “It does,” he agreed.

 

Kyuhyun looked slightly relieved, and even a little happy. The sight of him made Donghae’s chest fill up with warmth, glad to see that expression on the younger male’s face again. It meant Kyuhyun was slowly getting there, though he knew they both still had a long road ahead of them.

 

So when Kyuhyun grabbed a beanie to match, Donghae couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped from him. “You’re adorable, Kyuhyun-ah.”

 

“T-Thank you.” Kyuhyun was blushing by now, making his mate smile.

 

The two of them continued to go around the village, accepting all kinds of food from the vendors whenever they told them that it was on the house, wanting to be welcoming to their guests. It was quaint, certainly the best place to help ease Kyuhyun out from his shell a little more.

 

Eventually, they stopped at a small park in the village that had a well in the middle with park benches scattered around.

 

Sitting down on one, Donghae took a box of kimbap out of one of the bags a vendor had given them and handed it over to Kyuhyun, watching him slowly take it.

 

“Eat,” he coaxed him. “Do you want anything to drink?”

 

Kyuhyun nodded slowly. “S-Some water?”

 

“Alright, I’ll be right bac-” Donghae stopped when he felt a tug on his sleeve, looking at Kyuhyun, who was looking up at him pleadingly.

 

Smelling his mate’s fear, he settled down, smiling at him reassuringly. “It’ll be okay, Hyun. There’s a vendor right over there, so I won’t be long.”

 

“P-Promise?”

 

“Promise.”

 

Staring at Donghae for a long moment, Kyuhyun finally nodded reluctantly, slowly letting go of his sleeve. “Just come back soon.”

 

“I will.”

 

Donghae hastily ran to the vendor, buying two bottles of water and thanking him. He ran back over to Kyuhyun, who looked slightly skittish even as a couple of kids ran by while kicking a ball around.

 

Taking a seat next to his mate, Donghae hid his surprise when the younger squirmed a little closer to him.

 

Not commenting on it, Donghae hands him the bottle of water. It takes awhile for Kyuhyun to open it, but he does, all the while Donghae’s resisting in taking it from him to do it. He knows he should let Kyuhyun set the pace for how far physical interaction goes, but it was only natural for Donghae to want to look after his mate’s every little need.

 

“So, do you like it?” Donghae forces out, distracting himself.

 

“The water?”

 

Donghae’s cheeks flame. “N-no, the village.”

 

Donghae sees Kyuhyun turn away slightly which Donghae follows to see why, and he sees the younger male’s shoulders shuddering slightly.

 

“Kyu?” he calls in alarm, thinking the worst.

 

“I like it here,” Kyuhyun says as he turns back round, a little smile on his lips as he keeps himself from laughing again.

 

Realising the water comment had been Kyuhyun joking with him sent him dizzy with happiness as he returns the smile.

 

“You should let it out,” he carefully suggests, and Kyuhyun sobers a little, but gives him a little nod.

 

“Okay.” Kyuhyun smiles at him again, before looking away from Donghae to unwrap the clingfilm from around his kimbap.

 

As Donghae carefully unwraps his own, he feels Kyuhyun lightly tug his sleeve again. Glancing to see what his mate wanted, his eyes landed on the piece of kimbap that Kyuhyun was holding out to him.

 

Kyuhyun’s eyes were slightly anxious as he waited. “Eat?”

 

Not needing to be told twice, Donghae’s heart soared as he carefully wrapped his lips around the piece, taking care not to touch Kyuhyun’s fingers.

 

Kyuhyun beams at him, the anxiousness gone as he picks up another one.

 

Smiling back, Donghae continued to let Kyuhyun feed him, feeling too much happiness to even allow any negative thoughts to conquer him.

 

 

 

“Damn it, Choi Siwon! Get back here!”

 

Siwon ignored the furious calls as he fled into the safety of the restaurant, not even minding the curious looks he received. He ducked into the back rooms, not wanting to risk the wrath of a certain Lee Hyukjae. The last thing he wanted was to deal with a temperamental wolf, especially if it was his own friend.

 

But he winced when he heard the doors slammed open, hoping that the glass wouldn’t have broken under the strong pressure. He poked his head out of his hiding place, yelping when he saw Hyukjae heading his way.

 

"Siwon!"

 

"Go away!"

 

"No, get your ass out here!"

 

Siwon shook his head, pouting.

 

Hyukjae snarled, ignoring the stunned looks they were received from the patrons in the restaurant.

 

"Get your ass out here so that we can settle this!"

 

"No!" Siwon whined. "You're just going to yell at me!"

 

Hyukjae crossed his arms. "Whose fault was it for interrupting my date?!"

 

"I didn't mean to!"

 

The scent of lies filled the air, causing Hyukjae's eye to twitch. "You're lying!"

 

Siwon whined, hitting himself mentally for losing control the other day. He hadn't meant to suddenly go up to Hyukjae on his date and suddenly act like a bastard. It was the first time Hyukjae had looked so pissed off that it even caused his wolf to whimper.

 

Now he still had to deal with a furious Hyukjae.

 

“I was just looking out for you?” Siwon hesitantly tries out, and shrinks further under Hyukjae’s glare.

 

“Office. Now.” Hyukjae grinds out as he brushes past Siwon, and Siwon’s left standing there, stunned.

 

_You’re going to let him order you about like that?_ his wolf asks curiously, and Siwon’s hurrying to follow the werewolf.

 

“Listen,” he starts immediately as he shuts the door behind him, “I was only doing what I said I would do.”

 

“I don’t recall you saying that you were going to stalk me.”

 

Siwon bites his tongue at the comment. “I said, I wanted to meet the human. You were the one who went behind my back and organised a date without me okaying it.”

 

Hyukjae gives him an incredulous look. “I didn’t even know I had one until after I saw you!”

 

“You have my number, you knew where I was, yet you still didn’t say anything about it!”

 

Hyukjae looks like he’s ready to hit something. “Fine. I should have. But that gave you no right to humiliate the poor girl.”

 

Siwon rolls his eyes. “I didn’t humiliate her.”

 

“You told her she smelt disgusting.”

 

“Her _perfume_ smelt disgusting.” Siwon corrects.

 

“You don’t say that to a stranger!” Hyukjae yells, snapping finally.

 

Siwon felt his wolf surge forward, making him struggle to keep it back. The last thing he wanted to do was to have his wolf come out and make things become an even bigger deal.

 

"I was just being honest!"

 

"It's called being 'courteous'," Hyukjae retorted, eyes narrowing. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

 

Siwon made a sound. "I told you. I was just making sure she wasn't suspicious."

 

"Liar." The older glared. "Tell me why you interrupted our date."

 

"I don't have to."

 

"Yes, you do."

 

Siwon shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you anything. You have no right to demand anything from me."

 

Hyukjae snarled. "Not this time," he growled. "Why the fuck did you do all of that?!"

 

"Because I don't want you to date anyone!"

 

The older paused briefly, looking stunned. "What?"

 

Siwon froze, realizing the words that came out from his mouth. Even his wolf grew quiet, though he felt its amusement.

 

"What was that?" Hyukjae asked again, taking a step closer.

 

"It was nothing."

 

"What did you mean you didn't want me to date anyone?"

 

Siwon groaned. "I meant, you can't date a human. It's too risky! What if she found out?"

 

"Then that'll be my problem. You shouldn't have interfered!"

 

"Then what do you want me to say?"

 

"I want you to tell me how you truly feel."

 

_Well that’s a huge opening if I’ve ever seen one,_ his wolf smartly tells him.

 

Suddenly fed up with it all, fed up with hiding his feelings and controlling himself and the smart comments his wolf likes to make, Siwon breaks.

 

“You want to know?” he - very close to being hysterical - snaps. “Fine.”

 

Hyukjae’s eyes widen as Siwon storms over to him, submission rolling through him.

 

Siwon whines, head shaking as he stops himself, hands clenching at his hair in distress.

 

“Goddamn it Hyuk, I like you.” He breathes out, heart racing. “I’ve liked you for years.”

 

Hyukjae’s mouth is slightly apart, stunned as he stares up at him.

 

“W-what?” the male stammers out.

 

Siwon braces himself for the rejection. “You wanted to know, so now you do. I like you, more than I should do, and that’s why I ruined your date.”

 

“You’re an idiot.”

 

Now it’s Siwon’s turn to stare. “What?”

 

“You’re a _blind_ idiot.” Hyukjae corrects himself.

 

Siwon’s far too confused right now. “If you could just expl-”

 

Hyukjae explains alright. He kisses him.

 

 

 

Kyuhyun held back a giggle as he watched Donghae attempt to be careful playing soccer with the kids. It was a warm-hearted sight, making him smile slightly. It was certainly fun watching the kids whine at him to play with them.

 

He handed Donghae a water bottle when his mate jogged back over to his side.

 

"Thank you," Donghae breathed out, taking it while avoiding Kyuhyun's fingers.

 

Kyuhyun watched him. "Did you have fun?"

 

"Yeah, it was like playing with the pups back in my old pack," Donghae mused, watching the kids continue to play.

 

His mate looked slightly surprised at the information, but then schooled his face to a blank one. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself."

 

"I always like sports, Hyun."

 

Kyuhyun nodded slightly, shuddering when a cold breeze brushed past him.

 

Seeing the action, Donghae looked at him in concern. "Ready to go back?"

 

With a nod, the younger helped Donghae pack up their stuff before standing up. He stuck close to his mate as they began their trek home, longing to simply snuggle against Donghae, but finding no words to express his thoughts.

 

He settled for being near him, enjoying the warmth emanating from the older male.

 

They eventually reached the cottage and Kyuhyun settled himself on the couch whilst Donghae place the stuff they bought in the rooms and the food into the kitchen. The sight reminded him of home with Donghae doing what he can to keep the house tidy and clean.

 

And he found himself just wanting to do something for his mate.

 

Donghae announced he was going to shower, and when he made sure that Kyuhyun was okay with being left alone, he left him. Kyuhyun had to take a couple of deep breathes as he busied himself, changing out of his clothes and straight into his pjs since he didn’t want to take a shower tonight.

 

Listening to the running water of the shower, Kyuhyun tried to figure out how to turn the tv on that was in Donghae’s room. Once that was done, Kyuhyun hurried to the kitchen to prepare Donghae a drink. Seeing that they had a small carton of juice supplied by the owners, Kyuhyun smiled and took it out. His mate liked juice, so he was hoping he’d like this one.

 

Once he placed it on the table on Donghae’s side of the bed, Kyuhyun made himself comfortable, clutching at a borrowed cushion from the living room.

 

Donghae was surprised to find him watching tv in his bedroom, but he didn’t question it.

 

“What are you watching?” he asks curiously as he towel dries his hair.

 

“Something with idols in it,” Kyuhyun answers as Donghae sits on the bed, but at the bottom instead of at the top where Kyuhyun is.

 

Knowing this was the beginning of his idea for Donghae, Kyuhyun swallowed the sudden burst of self-consciousness.

 

“Is it comfortable sitting down there?” He asks, watching how Donghae’s broad back tenses slightly.

 

Donghae doesn’t say anything, but he flings his towel over his head as he shuffles backwards  so that he’s sitting against the headboard as well.

 

Kyuhyun glances to see that the towel has created a curtain, preventing either of them to see each other.

 

Kyuhyun frowns. Gripping the towel edge, he tugs it gently.

 

“Hmm?” Donghae says, looking at him curiously.

 

“You’re dripping.” Kyuhyun sort of lies.

 

Donghae quickly apologies, hands rising to rub his hair with it again, but Kyuhyun’s tugs it again, harder this time.

 

“Can I?” He asks, already shifting so that he can sit facing Donghae.

 

Donghae nods and turns around so that Kyuhyun can do it properly.

 

Kyuhyun starts to rub the towel slowly, savouring the feeling of actually touching his mate for more than a few seconds.

 

Kyuhyun peers over his mate’s shoulder to see if he’s noticed his present. Seeing that it was still there, Kyuhyun purses his lips slightly.

 

“Is my phone on the table?” Kyuhyun asks lightly, hands rubbing faster.

 

“No?...” Donghae trails off, and as he leans forward, Kyuhyun halts so that he doesn’t pull on his hair.

 

“Thank you, Hyun.” Donghae softly says, voice filled with emotion.

 

Kyuhyun’s cheeks burn, but he smiles, pleased that he’s made his mate happy again.

 

_You’re doing so good,_ his wolf sighs happily.

 

The praise goes to his head, and after he’s done with drying Donghae’s hair, he hides his smile behind his borrowed cushion as they watch the variety show.

 

When it’s time to retire for the night, Kyuhyun’s nerves return as Donghae turns everything off.

 

“C-can I stay again?” He asks from behind his cushion.

 

Donghae nods. “You don’t even need to ask, Hyun,” he softly laughs.

 

Kyuhyun knows this, but he still feels the need to ask. He can’t help it.

 

As Donghae leaves to make sure everything is locked and turned off, Kyuhyun places his borrowed cushion onto the floor and slips under the duvet.

 

Eyes on the door, Kyuhyun relaxes once Donghae comes back, shutting the door behind him.

 

“Ready?” the male asks him with his hand on the light switch. Kyuhyun nods, and their room plunges into darkness.

 

Kyuhyun breathes through the spike of panic, inhaling his mate’s scent and tracking his movements as he gets into bed as well.

 

They lie there for a few seconds, with Kyuhyun on his side facing Donghae, and Donghae on his back still.

 

Kyuhyun hates how awkward he’s made this. Mates shouldn’t have to lie stiffly next to each other.

 

Donghae clears his throat. “Night, Kyuhyun.”

 

Kyuhyun murmurs it back, hands gripping the top of the duvet that was tucked under his chin.

 

He feels Donghae shift, and he strains to see in the dark to see which side he’s on now.

 

Hesitantly, Kyuhyun’s hand slowly loosens its hold and he feels his way across the duvet, searching.

 

Feeling Donghae’s bare chest from where his vest doesn’t cover, Kyuhyun yanks his hand back as Donghae lets out a little sound.

 

Kyuhyun bites his lip as his mate holds back the whine he had started to make. “Hyun?” Donghae asks, voice clear of just how much the distance is affecting him.

 

Kyuhyun desperately wants to change that, sick of taking baby steps. If he wants to fix this, he needs to do his final act of his plan.

 

His hand reaches out again, fingers searching for Donghae’s shoulder.

 

It’s the first time he’s touched his mate without anything between them.

 

He can hear Donghae trying to calm his sudden rise in breathing, and Kyuhyun joins him.

 

“Can...can I sleep closer?” Kyuhyun whispers, unable to make his voice any louder as his heart begins to pound in his ears.

 

Donghae’s skin feels like it’s on fire, and as Kyuhyun muses to himself if it has always felt that hot, he almost misses Donghae’s whisper.

 

“You can come as close as you want, Hyun.”

 

Kyuhyun feels delight bubble inside his tummy as he carefully shimmies his way closer to Donghae.

 

Donghae holds himself still as he does so, and as Kyuhyun finally settles with a hands-width distance between his body and Donghae’s, he sighs softly, welcoming the added warmth at being closer to his mate.

 

Kyuhyun trails his hand down until it’s clutching at the front of Donghae’s vest, and asks one last thing of his mate.

 

“Can you hold me a little?”

 

Donghae’s exhale hits his face, and Kyuhyun takes a slow breath as he feels Donghae lightly place a hand on his hip.

 

But that’s not what he wants.

 

Feeling frustrated with himself for not just saying it plainly, Kyuhyun’s hand lets go off Donghae’s vest and gently holds the hand on his hip. Slowly, he eases it further around him, and Donghae gets the hint and places his hand firmly at the base of Kyuhyun’s spine, hugging him almost.

 

Kyuhyun sighs, contented now as he feels Donghae shift a little so that he isn’t stretching.

 

His hand returns to its previous grip on Donghae’s vest and he finally closes his eyes.

 

_Well done, Kyuhyun. You’re doing so well!_ his wolf cheers, and it causes him to smile, feeling giddy.

 

He’s getting there. Slowly. But he’s getting there.

 

 

 

When Kyuhyun woke up, he was greeted with the sight of his mate sleeping peacefully beside him. Unable to help himself, he snuggled a little closer and deeply inhaled Donghae's scent, a pleased tingle going down his spine.

 

He stiffened when he felt Donghae move a bit before settling down.

 

Watching his mate for a moment longer, Kyuhyun slowly breathed out as he relaxed a little. Kyuhyun traced Donghae's face with his eyes, wanting to touch his skin with his fingertips and hold him close.

 

But the fear continued to linger.

 

He closed his eyes, wanting to sleep in a little longer. It had been a long time since he's been able to sleep so close to Donghae without fear, and he wanted to savour it just a moment longer.

 

There was no way he was going to let anything ruin this.

 

Kyuhyun held his breath when he felt his mate move again, hearing a low mumble escape from his lips. It was the time when Donghae was about to wake up and prepare for the day - a habit he had taken up during his time as a photographer.

 

Kyuhyun knew that Donghae only stayed in bed a little later than usual because he wanted to lie there in bed with his mate, but after what happened, Kyuhyun didn't have the privilege to watch Donghae sleep anymore due to his fear.

 

He wanted to change that.

 

So when he felt Donghae slowly start to get up, he feigned sleep and grabbed hold of his vest again in the illusion of snuggling closer.

 

He felt Donghae stop, as if surprised by the sudden movement.

 

That surprise did nothing but cause Kyuhyun's heart to clench in pain.

 

His instinct as a mate wanted to do something to comfort the older male; he just didn't know what.

 

And it was still too soon.

 

Kyuhyun loosened his grip as Donghae gently pried his hands away, and nearly cried when the alpha pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead. It was such a loving gesture that Kyuhyun felt incompetent to reciprocate.

 

So he laid in bed, hearing Donghae move around quietly as he could without waking him.

 

It was when he heard the alpha leave the room did he finally open his eyes again. He stayed in bed for a little longer, staring at the space Donghae was in and nearly cuddled to where he still felt his mate's warmth. Grabbing hold of Donghae's pillow, he inhaled it deeply, a whimper escaping from him.

 

He missed being close to him again.

 

Slipping out of bed whilst clutching Donghae's pillow, he walked out of the room, surprising Donghae who was heading into the kitchen.

 

The surprise was soon replaced with a smile. "Morning, Kyu."

 

Kyuhyun nodded, burying his nose into Donghae’s pillow as he follows his mate into the kitchen.

 

“Hungry?” Donghae asks he opens the fridge.

 

Kyuhyun stops near the door, watching his mate look inside to see what they could have. Hands tightening on Donghae’s pillow and hugging it closer to his chest, he shuffles closer.

 

“Can I help?” he asks softly as Donghae gets out some of the fruit a vendor had given to them yesterday.

 

Donghae nods, smiling brightly as he places them on the counter. “You wanna cut them while I make this….what is this?” Donghae asks as he stares down at the box he’d gotten from the cupboard.

 

Kyuhyun places his pillow onto the table and shuffles over to where Donghae was staring at the box of oatmeal in confusion. “I can’t read this,” he whines as he squints at the English letters.

 

Kyuhyun smiles and takes it from him. “I’ll do this and you do the fruit?”

 

Donghae stares at him a little while, hand still open as Kyuhyun studies the box, making sure he knows vaguely how to make this brand.

 

One of the advantages of going shopping with Ryeowook is that the male loves to compare brands, talking Kyuhyun’s ear off about how imported oatmeal is richer than the Korean brands.

 

As Kyuhyun gets it ready, he feels Donghae still watching him, causing him to still and look up at his mate. “Hae?”

 

Donghae shakes himself, snapping himself out of his daydream. Donghae mumbles an apology and rushes to start on the fruit. Kyuhyun smiles, watching his mate for a few seconds before returning back to his own task.

 

Once he’d managed to cook the oatmeal without burning it, though Donghae did hover near him as he stirred it, waiting in case Kyuhyun’s curse when it comes to cooking to appear.

 

Kyuhyun had purposely taken his time, making sure he wouldn’t screw it up.

 

Sitting down at the table, Kyuhyun places Donghae’s pillow onto a free chair and gestures for Donghae to begin eating. Neither of them really spoke, and they didn’t eat much of the oatmeal, just mainly the fruit.

 

“Well...that was a waste.” Donghae laughs as he nods at their almost full dishes.

 

Kyuhyun tells himself it’s not his fault, his wolf backing him up as he glances at the now cold oatmeal.

 

"We can just heat this up later when we get hungry again,” the older male hummed out, grabbing their dishes and walked back over to the kitchen counter, covering them up with clingfilm to make sure they don’t get ruined.

 

“Hae…?”

 

Donghae looked up. “What’s up?”

 

“C-Can we...Can we go to the hot springs?” Kyuhyun asked shyly.

 

There was a place for hot springs just a few minutes away from where they were staying. The owner had told them about it just in case they wanted to go since the weather was still getting colder and hot springs were known to be very relaxing in cold weather.

 

But Donghae hadn’t expected Kyuhyun to ask since his mate had been very shy about being around him even in the state of undress.

 

Still, the alpha smiled. “Of course we can! I’ll start preparing everything.”

 

“Can I help?”

 

“You know that I have no protest against that,” Donghae chuckled out, giving him a smile that made Kyuhyun’s heart become filled with warmth.

 

Kyuhyun nodded, grabbing Donghae’s pillow and following his mate to his room.

 

 

 

“Any news from them?” Ryeowook asked, looking slightly concerned as he looked over at Sungmin.

 

Sungmin shook his head, but gave him a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine, Wook. Before we know it, those two will come home soon.”

 

“And Siwon-hyung will have to answer to Donghae-hyung about this new development,” the younger of the two remarked as he looked over to Hyukjae’s room, hearing muffled sounds coming from it.

 

The older snickered. “Oh, this should be interesting to watch once Hae finds out about this. And you’d think Hyukjae was the most protective of the two.”

 

“At least they have sex after Henry goes to sleep. He’s a heavy sleeper.”

 

Sungmin nodded in agreement, almost smiling when he saw Hyukjae stumble out of the room, looking slightly frayed. “Good evening, Hyuk!”

 

Hyukjae stopped, eyes widening slightly. “U-Uh, hi guys.”

 

“You look like you were mauled.”

 

“Shut up,” Hyukjae hissed out, stumbling into the kitchen. “What were you guys talking about?”

 

“You and Siwon doing it.”

 

A bright red blush painted Hyukjae’s cheeks. “Yah! You don’t talk about stuff like that!”

 

“Why not?” Sungmin continues to tease as Hyukjae determinedly ignores them. “Shy?”

 

Hyukjae fumbles with the two cups he gets from the cupboard, dropping them onto the counter.

 

“I have a question though,” Ryeowook starts to gang up on the male as well, sliding up next to Sungmin as they both watch Hyukjae attempt to make some coffee, “Siwon’s place is closer….yet you guys came here.”

 

“Shut up.” Hyukjae hisses out, shoulders bunching as he tries to ignore them still.

 

“Is it cos Hae-hyung’s scent is too strong near Siwon’s apartment that you guys couldn’t let loose there?” Ryeowook continues, the picture of innocence as Sungmin tries not to laugh.

 

They see the tips of Hyuk’s ears turn red, and they both snigger as Hyukjae knocks the coffee jug against the cups.

 

“You’re a bit of an alpha-magnet, aren’t you?” Sungmin jokes, watching as Hyukjae pours the coffee. “After a while, you hook them in and you become irresistible to them.”

 

“Didn’t Siwon-hyung say something like that?” Ryeowook asks curiously, eyes dancing with mischief. “I’m sure I heard him moan it.”

 

“He moaned a lot of things to be fair,” Sungmin adds.

 

 Hyukjae whirls on them, coffee jug in hand. “I will scald you.” He hisses out.

 

“Are you sure about that?”

 

“I hate you two, I swear.”

 

The two merely snickered, hearing Siwon call out Hyukjae’s name questionably.

 

“You better go,” Sungmin sang out. “Or else Siwon’s gonna end up coming out here and whisk you away.”

 

Hyukjae glowered. “He wouldn’t do that.”

 

“He did that last night the moment you two stumbled into the apartment making-out,” Ryeowook pointed out.

 

He and Sungmin laughed as Hyukjae turned completely red, screaming at them to shut up.

 

 

 

Donghae smiled as he watched Kyuhyun splash the water, a small giggle escaping from him.

 

He relaxed against the rocks, sighing contently at the slight pressure against his back and soothing his muscles. It was certainly one of the best ways to ease out stress, that’s for sure.

 

Water hit his chest, making him look up to see Kyuhyun smile shyly at him.

 

“Having fun?” Donghae teased, watching Kyuhyun blush faintly before nodding.

 

Kyuhyun said, “It’s...relaxing in here.”

 

“Well, that’s the whole point of the hot springs,” the alpha mused. He ducked his head under the water for a moment before popping back out, shaking his head to get his wet fringe out from his eyes.

 

He stopped when he felt the water shift, staying put as Kyuhyun shuffled closer. Blinking a few times, Donghae looked up in time to feel his mate gently brush his bangs to the side.

 

“That’s better,” he heard his mate murmur.

 

Donghae said nothing as Kyuhyun dropped his hand, looking shy. He tilted his head.

 

“Are...you better?” he asked cautiously, not wanting to spook him.

 

There was a brief pause before Kyuhyun slowly nodded. “I am.”

 

Donghae smiled at him, earning one in return. But he still didn’t move to touch his mate, only being cautious since Kyuhyun has always been the one initiating all physical contact so far.

 

“C-Can I wash your back?”

 

“Do you want to?”

 

Kyuhyun nodded. “I do.”

 

Shifting a bit, Donghae smiled. “Then I have no issue with it.”

 

Beaming, Kyuhyun quietly watched as Donghae turned around so that his back was facing him and he reached over to the side where the bucket with the towels inside were placed. Grabbing a towel and gently dabbing it into the water, Kyuhyun slowly began to wash his mate’s back, watching as the muscles tensed a bit as he ran the towel over the smooth skin.

 

Grabbing one of the floating buckets passing by him, Kyuhyun fills it up with the hot water and slowly trails it across his mate’s shoulders, smiling at the soft sigh Donghae makes as he does it, relaxing further.

 

He does this a few more times, making sure he gets some of it down the front of his chest so that it doesn’t get too cold compared to his back.

 

Shifting closer, Kyuhyun slowly wraps his arms around the male’s waist and places his cheek against Donghae’s shoulder blade as he hugs him lightly, smiling as his mate jerks in surprise.

 

“Kyu?”

 

“So snuggly,” Kyuhyun murmurs, sighing blissfully as Donghae relaxes and he feels the male’s hands cover his own, squeezing them tightly.

 

Inhaling Donghae’s scent up close like this as well as finally being close to him again, Kyuhyun didn’t want to let him go. He liked how Donghae’s fingers were lightly tracing the back of his hand under the water, the soothing action making Kyuhyun snuggle closer.

 

“Don’t fall asleep,” his mate teases softly. Kyuhyun smiles at the proud and content tone his mate had used.

 

Pulling his head back slightly, Kyuhyun briefly kissed the damp skin of Donghae’s shoulder.

 

Donghae shivered at the press of his lips, a small whine coming from him as Kyuhyun slips his arms from him.

 

Without giving Donghae time to act, Kyuhyun dunks the bucket and dumps it over his mate’s head, laughing as Donghae gasps loudly.

 

Paddling through the water away from him, heart pounding from excitement, Kyuhyun turns, expecting Donghae to be after him.

 

However, Donghae’s just sitting there, a silly grin on his face as his soaking hair drips down his face.

 

A small pout make its way onto Kyuhyun’s face, a little disappointed his mate hadn’t come and chased after him.

 

“What’s wrong?” Donghae asked softly, noticing the disappointment.

 

Kyuhyun pouted more. “Chase me.”

 

“What?” Donghae leaned back, looking surprised.

 

His mate nodded, giving him a shy smile. “Chase me. I’m okay with it.”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna spook you.”

 

Kyuhyun just gave him a reassuring smile, one that made Donghae’s heart beat faster.

 

With a soft sigh, he returned the smile. “Alright, you better prepare yourself then.”

 

The younger just laughed, escaping from his mate as the older male began chasing him. He knew Donghae was going slow on purpose, and that just made him all the more determined to get his mate to start being comfortable around him, too, again.

 

But they both enjoyed the chase, laughter ringing in the hot springs as they continued to play around.

 

Eventually, Donghae finally managed to catch Kyuhyun, ensnaring him in his arms and bringing him close to his chest. The sudden closeness of it made Kyuhyun’s heart thump loudly, a bright blush painting his cheeks.

 

Donghae chuckled. “You look adorable,” he teased, earning a pout from his mate.

 

Not wanting to lose, Kyuhyun leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose, effectively stunning Donghae while he pulled back and giggled at the dumbfounded expression painting his mate’s face.

 

“Cute,” Kyuhyun says, smiling softly.

 

Donghae blinked at him dumbly, eyes slightly wide and mouth agape.

 

“Your mouth is going to catch flies at this rate,” Kyuhyun pointed out, making Donghae snap his mouth shut immediately.

 

“Kyu...you…”

 

Kyuhyun shifted a bit, suddenly anxious. “S-Sorry. I d-didn’t mean to kiss your nose, I just-”

 

"I don’t mind,” Donghae interjected. “In fact, I loved it.”

 

“You did?”

 

Donghae nodded, smiling widely as he treaded closer to his mate and carefully wrapped his arms around him again, watching Kyuhyun closely for any signs of recoil. Other than the brief tense he made, Kyuhyun made no move to get out of his arms.

 

“I am,” he assured the younger male. “Because that means you’re healing.”

 

A little pleased smile found its way on Kyuhyun’s lips, feeling giddy for making his mate proud at his progress. He shimmied a little closer to him, almost snuggling up against his mate. “It’s because I have you here with me,” he mumbled shyly.

 

Donghae didn’t say anything, but Kyuhyun could practically hear the smile that formed on his mate’s lips. It made him beam, hearing his wolf compliment him as they made incredible progress.

 

He was healing.

 

 

 

Later that night, Kyuhyun decided it was time to actually talk about it.

 

He’s made huge progress in terms of physical contact, but in order for him to fully heal and be comfortable around his mate and others again, he needs to talk about it. He knows it’ll be hard, distressing for them both, but the payoff will be worth it.

 

Once again, they were in Donghae’s room, watching the tv. The room had became their own little bubble, which was a shame since they’ve hardly used the rest of the cottage.

 

Currently pressed up against the side of Donghae with his mate’s arm lightly holding him, Kyuhyun tapped the male’s chest to get his attention.

 

Once his mate looked down at him, eyebrow raised curiously, Kyuhyun forced himself to start the topic.

 

“Can we talk about what happened?” he asks softly, and he can’t help but tense as well when Donghae does, carefully reading his mate’s face.

 

Shifting a bit in order to look at Kyuhyun better, he stared at his mate for a moment. “Are you sure?”

 

Kyuhyun nodded. “I...I want to talk about it.”

 

“Okay...then talk.”

 

Blinking away the sting of tears beginning to gather in his eyes, Kyuhyun whimpered. “I’m sorry, Hae. I’m sorry for not being more careful. I’m sorry for not listening to you when you told me to be safe.”

 

Startled and worried about his mate, Donghae cupped his cheeks. “What are you talking about, Kyu?”

 

“When you told me to be careful the day before it happened,” Kyuhyun whimpered more. “I wasn’t, and because of my carelessness, you got hurt.”

 

“Kyu…”

 

“He...he hurt me, Hae. He knew about my fears and used it against me,” his mate continued on quietly. “He did everything he could to humiliate me, even mentioning how I ended up getting myself captured because I wasn’t careful enough.”

 

Donghae frowned, thumb brushing away the tear that slipped down Kyuhyun’s cheek. But he said nothing, knowing Kyuhyun needed to let it all out.

 

His mate began to cry even more at the loving gesture. Before he even knew what he was saying, everything just came out with the desperate need to convey all of it to his mate. All of those painful memories of Changmin were building up, ready to be let go, and this was the way to do it.

 

He needed to tell Donghae everything.

 

He needed to tell Donghae he was sorry for not listening to him.

 

Even more so, Kyuhyun needed to apologize for being such a bad mate.

 

By the end of his desperate explanations, Kyuhyun was hiccuping from the crying.

 

“But I’m tired of being like this, Hae.” Kyuhyun hiccups. “I want things to go back to before...before Changmin appeared. I don’t want to see you, my mate, edge around me anymore, scared that you’re going to spook me.”

 

Donghae wipes his tear stained cheeks and gently cradles his face, his own eyes showing unshed tears.

 

“All of this wasn’t your fault, Kyuhyun.” Donghae whispers. “Changmin would have found a way to you, believe me.”

 

Kyuhyun shakes his head in denial. “It’s because I ignored your orders.”

 

“No, Kyu. It’s not.” Donghae desperately tells him again. “Do you forget that on that day, I was the one to allow you to go to Jungsu’s without anyone?”

 

Kyuhyun starts shaking his head. “This isn’t your fault either!”

 

“Not entirely, but I failed to protect you.” Donghae says heartbreakingly. “You. The most important thing in my life. I failed to protect you and allowed some bastard to hurt you.”

 

“You’re not the one at fault here.” Donghae firmly says as Kyuhyun starts to cry again, hands clutching Donghae’s that were holding his face gently.

 

Kyuhyun shakes softly as Donghae presses a comforting kiss to his forehead as he tries to control his sobbing.

 

“But...you nearly died because of me.” Kyuhyun whimpers, hands clutching at Donghae’s face to keep him close so he can see just how terrified that made him. “I had to watch that and see the result of it afterwards.”

 

“Wouldn’t you do the exact same though?” Donghae asks him quietly, eyes softening. “Wouldn’t you do everything within your power to save me?”

 

Kyuhyun nods, eyes fierce. “Of course.

 

Donghae nods slowly. “It’s a horrible thing to witness, and I am sorry you had to see it, Kyu, but know that I don’t and have never held you accountable for what Changmin did to me.” He stresses, eyes begging Kyuhyun to hear and believe him.

 

“I don’t blame you for anything that happened,” his mate whispers, pulling him close into a hug.

 

Kyuhyun clings to Donghae and presses his nose close to his mate’s neck, inhaling his comforting scent as they lie on the bed, clinging to each other.

 

Donghae’s hand runs up and down his spine soothingly. “We’ll take each day as it comes.” He reassures. “You’ve made huge progress during the last few days, Kyuhyun. I’m so proud of you.”

 

Kyuhyun shudders at the praise, feeling himself slowly let go of the vicious words Changmin has embedded into him. 

 

 

 

It was evident that the next few days were better. Ever since Kyuhyun had managed to talk about it, the couple had completely taken one step at a time in order to continue with Kyuhyun’s healing. He was getting there, slowly, but he was doing better than ever. It eventually reached the point wherein Kyuhyun wouldn’t shy away from Donghae’s touch anymore whenever the alpha initiated contact; in fact, he’d become clingy to the male.

 

Soon, it would be time for them to go home.

 

“Are you sure you want to go back?” Donghae asked as he placed their breakfast on the table, smiling when Kyuhyun leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You know that we can stay here a little longer whilst you continue to heal.”

 

Kyuhyun shook his head. “No, I’m fine,” he said softly. “I’ve gotten better, and I want to see how I feel around someone else now.”

 

“That can be taken as another meaning, you know.”

 

His mate smiled, hearing the somewhat annoyed tone laced in his words. “I meant I want to see if I can be comfortable around our pack members again. Besides, I do kind of miss the city.”

 

Eyeing Kyuhyun for a moment to see if he’d change his mind, Donghae sighed when he couldn’t find anything. “Alright,” he agreed. “Let’s eat and then we’ll pack to go home.”

 

“Thank you.” Beaming at the alpha, Kyuhyun waited until Donghae sat down before beginning to eat.

 

 

 

Henry sat on the couch, curled up, as he watched Ryeowook move around the apartment with wide eyes. He’s never seen the petite-looking man move so fast before - it almost seemed as if a tornado hit the apartment. When he tried to help, Ryeowook demanded him to sit in one place while he got everything ready. So he sat on the couch, obeying Ryeowook’s words whenever the male asked him to move so that he could clean a spot.

 

That’s right. Ryeowook had been cleaning the apartment like a madman ever since they received a call from Donghae saying that they were coming home and were going to see the pack first.

 

And now everyone was struggling to get things in order before their alpha returned home.

 

Sungmin was busy in the kitchen cooking whilst both Hyukjae and Siwon were out.

 

Henry didn’t even want to think about what those two were doing after being traumatized by walking in on them almost about to do it when he entered the living room.

 

He recalled being so embarrassed that day whilst Hyukjae constantly tried to console him, only to be chased away by Ryeowook in the end.

 

Shifting a bit, Henry looked up when he felt the cushion beside him sink, seeing Hyukjae looking tired. “Hyung?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I-Is the alpha and Kyuhyun-hyung coming home?” Henry asked shyly, still unable to call Donghae by his real name, despite the fact the alpha had already accepted him into the pack and seemed to take a liking to him.

 

Hyukjae chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, they’re on the way now. Actually, I think they’ve just reached Seoul.”

 

“What!?” Ryeowook screeched, causing the two to wince. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

 

“Because I didn’t want you screaming my ear off,” Hyukjae muttered, sending the younger werewolf a certain look. “Do you not know just how crazy you can get?”

 

“I take that as an insult.”

 

“It’s just words of truth, Wookie.”

 

The younger huffed, crossing his arms. “Just like how you ended up traumatizing Henry?”

 

“It was an accident!” Hyukjae cried whilst Henry’s face turned completely red.

 

Sungmin sighed, coming out with a plate of food on both hands. He said, “Oh, just calm down, already. If they’re coming to see us first, then that means that Kyu’s made some progress over the days, but we better make sure that we don’t do anything to creep him out.”

 

“When’s Siwon coming home?” Ryeowook wondered, looking directly at Hyukjae.

 

The older werewolf twitched. “Soon,” he mumbled out. “He just needed to finish updating the accounts for the restaurant.”

 

“So have you two decided how to tell Donghae about your relationship?” Sungmin asks he places the clingfilm wrapped plates onto the table.

 

Hyukjae avoids looking at them. “Sort of.” He vaguely says as he fiddles with his sleeve.

 

Henry swallows as he sees his two favourite hyungs smirk. “‘Sort of’?” Ryeowook echoes, pausing his cleaning to tease the male.

 

Henry watches Hyukjae squirm. “He won’t mind, so we’re just going to-”

 

“Don’t even say, ‘we’re going to keep it hush-hush for now’,” Sungmin cuts in, arms folded. “Donghae isn’t stupid. He’ll know it as soon as he claps eyes on you two.”

 

“Is the alpha against pack members dating?” Henry curiously asks, heart racing slightly as he waits for an answer.

 

Ryeowook pulls a face as Sungmin comes to sit down beside Henry. “Him and Hyuk have a long past together,” Sungmin starts.

 

“So he shouldn’t care who I sleep with.” Hyukjae finishes grumpily.

 

Sungmin smiles at Henry as he leans into him slightly so that he can reach around and smack Hyukjae for the comment. “Of course he’ll care, idiot. He’s your alpha.”

 

Hyukjae scowls at him, rubbing his shoulder. “Why are you guys so invested in my relationship, anyway?”

 

“No reason,” both Sungmin and Ryeowook say at the same time, causing Henry to shiver at the slight creepiness of it.

 

Before Hyukjae can grill them for a better answer, the front door to the apartment opens and shuts. Siwon comes walking into the living room with a nervous smile on his face, but falters when everyone stares at him. “What?”

 

Ryeowook swoops upon the taller male. “Perfect timing! You can dust the ceiling lights in all the rooms!”

 

“Wook.” Hyukjae growls out, irritated as they see the little smirk playing on the male’s lips.

 

Ryeowook waves reassuringly, smirk disappearing as Siwon asks which room he wants doing first.

 

“What has he got planned?” Hyukjae demands, rounding on Sungmin and causing Henry to shrink back against the male’s chest.

 

Sungmin rubs his arms soothingly. “Probably about you guys performing an indecent act in his clean living room and scaring our maknae.”

 

“We didn’t mean to!” Hyukjae whines, fed up with it being chucked in his face.

 

They all hear the same whine come from one of the bedrooms, causing Hyukjae to groan and leave them while Sungmin sniggers into Henry’s ear, hugging the smaller male.

 

Henry wonders when he’ll finally get used to the banter his new pack members seem to love having with each other.

 

 

 

Following Donghae into the apartment, they were met with excited calls of welcoming them back.

 

Kyuhyun’s face heated up as he saw his pack members waiting for them in the living room, his heart only slightly racing.

 

Donghae squeezes his hand as is he can sense how Kyuhyun’s feeling. “You didn’t have to do that.” he chastises lightly.

 

“Sorry,” they all apologized before Ryeowook practically sprinted over to them, slowing down when Kyuhyun made a little flinch.

 

After a brief pause, Kyuhyun nodded, and his best friend squealed, hugging them both.

 

“I’m so happy you guys are back!” Ryeowook said, letting them go. “You missed out so much!”

 

Kyuhyun blinked curiously. “What happened?” he asked, eyeing Siwon and Hyukjae when they both stiffened.

 

Sungmin grinned, patting Henry’s shoulder when he felt the maknae shift uncomfortably. “Well-”

 

“Hyuk, why do you smell like Siwon?” was the first question that escaped Donghae’s mouth, cutting Sungmin off while he stared at his best friend, who turned red under the scrutiny.

 

Both Siwon and Hyukjae avoided looking at Donghae, unsure of what to say.

 

Kyuhyun stepped closer to his mate, feeling Donghae lightly wrap an arm around his waist as they both waited patiently for the two males to answer.

 

Siwon finally got fed up and threw his hands up into the air. “Hyuk and I are together.”

 

Silence.

 

Then Donghae said, “About damn time.”

 

“What?” Hyukjae gaped.

 

Kyuhyun giggled, hearing his mate mutter something under his breath.

 

“I can smell your attraction to Siwon a mile away,” Donghae complained, looking irritated. “And the same for Siwon. I swear, if you two took any longer, I would’ve just locked both of you up until you guys started to get all hot and sweaty together.”

 

“That’s not an image I wanted to have in my head,” Kyuhyun whispered into Donghae’s ear, earning a slight smirk.

 

Sungmin perked up. “Oh, about that! They already traumatized Henry because they were having sex in the living room.”

 

“We were not!” the two males cried.

 

Blinking slowly, Donghae whispered to Kyuhyun, convincing his mate to go over to Ryeowook. It took a little effort until his mate finally agreed, squeezing his hand tightly before letting go.

 

Turning back to his best friend and fellow alpha, Donghae beamed. “Wook, you and the others can go and bring the food in from the kitchen. It smells delicious, by the way. But in the meantime, I’m going to have a chat with Hyuk and Siwon about traumatizing our newest pack member.”

 

“No fair! You just got home and you’re already going to scold us?” Siwon demanded.

 

Donghae raised an eyebrow.”Is that a problem?”

 

“Nope,” Hyukjae squeaked out.

 

Kyuhyun watched as Donghae dragged the two to another room in the apartment before nervously following Ryeowook, Sungmin, and Henry into the kitchen. Once they’ve brought the food into the living room, he cautiously sat down at the table, watching Sungmin put the food onto the plates.

 

“Are you doing better, Kyu?” Ryeowook asked quietly, looking at his best friend in concern.

 

Kyuhyun hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Y-Yeah. Hae and I managed to get past some of the things that happened to me.”

 

“I’m glad. I really missed you, you know.”

 

Kyuhyun smiled shyly. “I missed you, too.”

 

“What about me?” Sungmin whined.

 

“Only a little,” Kyuhyun teases, smiling as Sungmin pouted at him.

 

He sees Henry shift out of the corner of his eye and he sees the younger one fighting to control his expression that was shifting from awkwardness to being polite.

 

Slowly, Kyuhyun reach his hand out to hold Henry’s that was on the table, causing the werewolf to jerk in surprise, his eyes widening.

 

Aware of Sungmin and Ryeowook watching him, Kyuhyun squeezes Henry’s hand gently. “I know we haven’t really interacted, but I hope that can change now?” he asks softly.

 

Henry nods, eager. “T-that would be nice,” he smiles at Kyuhyun.

 

Kyuhyun returns it and reaches over to bring a plate of food closer to Henry, who simply stares at it.

 

Kyuhyun snorts a little as Ryeowook puts a plate in front of him. “It’s not going to bite,” he teases the younger one, enjoying the innocent shyness Henry radiates.

 

He could see himself in Henry. Both were cautious and slightly afraid to be themselves around their pack members at the moment, so Kyuhyun hoped that as time goes on, both of them will finally break from their shells.

 

Hearing the other three come back into the room, Kyuhyun hides his smirk behind his hand as he sees both Hyuk and Siwon have red faces.

 

It felt good to be with the pack again, and as he watched Donghae give him a little smile over his shoulder, he felt himself become filled with warmth. It wasn’t something unexpected, but it was still something that gave him the confidence to continue going on with his journey of healing.

 

As long as he had Donghae by his side, Kyuhyun had no arguments. And by being with the pack again - his family - it was another step in the process.

 

And as he watched Donghae continue to scold Siwon and Hyukjae, hearing Ryeowook and Sungmin talk to Henry on the other side, Kyuhyun finally felt okay enough to start acting like himself again.

 

If only a little.

 

_You’ve done an incredible job, Kyuhyun,_ he heard his wolf whisper. _You’re healing._

 

Smiling brightly, Kyuhyun turned back to start conversing with Henry, feeling arms wrap around his neck and held back a giggle when his mate kissed behind his ear. He watched Donghae start to talk to Henry, more than amused at seeing the maknae stammer at suddenly being addressed by the alpha.

 

_It’s okay now. Those memories won’t haunt you anymore._


End file.
